Wednesday, November 18, 2015

United Launch Alliance Cannot bid on US Air Force GPS Sat Launch Contract due to Lakc of Russian RD-180 Rocket Engines

United Launch Alliance (ULA) has decided to skip the bidding competition for launch of the next generation U.S. Air Force GPS military navigation satellites, a company spokesperson confirmed to Universe Today, meaning that rival SpaceX is set to win its first military launch contract as the only other certified contract contender.

Since bids for the new GPS launch contracts – which were the first to be opened by the military to a competitive bidding process – were due on Monday, Nov. 16, the door has opened for SpaceX to apparently prevail with the launch services contract, by default, since they are the only other American company certified to launch U.S. Air Force military satellites.